What's The Most Important Thing Teachers of Today Need to Realize or Learn?

An educator I follow on Twitter,  thecleversheep, tweeted this this morning:

Care to share your wisdom? Looking for global representation in a preso on Collaboration: http://bit.ly/4gfNqy (retweets appreciated)

When I clicked the link, here's the question I was faced with:

What is the most important thing teachers of today need to realize, or need to learn?

One of those thought provokers! Here was my response:

The World Wide Web was invented in 1989; it is 20 years old. For students in K-12 education today, the Web has always existed. There has never been a world without it. Teachers who are 30 years old or older had little or no exposure to "growing up online" or learning online when they themselves were students. They certainly did not have the unsupervised access to technology that today's students have - nor did they have the opportunities for global learning. To stay relevant in our pedagogical approaches and to equip students to survive and thrive in the digital world where they already live, we must become adopters of the technology ourselves. We may never be immersed to the extent our students are, but to ignore the digital world in our personal and professional lives is a great disservice to our students.

How would you answer that very same question? Post a comment here, and while you're at it, post a response for thecleversheep's pesentation.

Shaping Well-Rounded Youth in a Digital World

This video profile of 14 year old Virginia from Edutopia had multiple impacts on me. First, I was impressed with the balance this young lady is learning as she conducts her life on many fronts: home, church, school, service, and social. And then I was impressed with WHY I believe she is learning that balance - because she has parents who are involved with her and a school and a teacher who see the importance of exposing students to the latest technology tools and teaching them the ethics and safety they need to be responsible digital citizens. I wish this young lady's story were more typical of teens across our country and our globe.

Schools can and should do a lot more to help shape well-rounded citizens like this young lady. I say that knowing it's not as simple as throwing some technology into a classroom and getting the kids up to speed. Even if the money for the purchase and maintenance of the "stuff" was no object, staff development would have to be continuously implemented. Technology coaches and teachers need to be well trained and continuously supported in order to create environments that will nurture more students like Virginia. As I write this, the system I work in is not there - YET. We'll get there. We're already making some baby steps, and we'll get there. It is hard not to be impatient, though, as this New York Times article suggests.

After viewing the video below (it will be a well spent and inspiring seven minutes!), if you want more in depth information about Virginia, her teacher, and her school, you can access it here.

Please post a comment with any thoughts you have after viewing this video!

Operation Christmas Child - A Simple Shoebox Can Impact a Life!

In the "About Me" section of my blog page, I have a little statement that says there are "no guarantees that a more personal post might not sneak in every once in a while". Well, this is one of those posts! My blog is 99% edtech, but Operation Christmas Child (OCC) is such an important ministry to me personally that it gets to sneak into the 1% non-edtech.

OCC is a ministry of Samaritan's Purse International. Each year they send millions of shoe boxes to children in desperate situations - poverty, war, natural disaster, famine - all over the world. The shoe boxes are full of toys, school supplies, and necessity items selected and packed by people just like you and me! The kids receive their shoe boxes at parties put on by local Christian ministries, they hear the true meaning of Christmas, and they receive a Gospel storybook in their own language. The local ministries then follow up with the children and families who are open to continuing to receive help.

What I love about this ministry is not only the impact it can have on the children who receive the shoeboxes, but also the amazing lessons it can teach us and our children - that Christmas isn't supposed to be about get, get, get, me, me, me. It's about God's gift to the world in His Son, and in honor of that gift, our giving to others.

In the United States, collection week is November 16 - 23, just before Thanksgiving. There are collections in other countries, too, and different rules for what you can put in your shoeboxes and different collection dates.

For more information about OCC, how to pack a shoebox, and where and when to donate shoe boxes in your country, please visit these links:

• United States
  How to Pack a Shoe Box in the U.S.
• Australia and New Zealand
• Canada
• Ireland
• Netherlands
• United Kingdom
• Germany and Austria

This video captures what my words cannot. I dare you to watch this video, see the looks on the kids' faces, and NOT send a shoebox!




Thank you for taking the time to consider supporting this effort. Please leave a comment if you are familiar with OCC or decide to participate!

Building a Personal Learning Network (PLN) on Twitter

The Personal Learning Network (PLN) that I've built on Twitter over the past couple of months has become an amazing resource for learning about what's going on in the educational technology world. I was excited when I had an opportunity last week to present using Twitter as a tool for personal learning to some of my colleagues. Although I knew I wouldn't have time to share everything I've learned or done over the past couple of months with them, I wound up reflecting back in some detail on my own journey as I prepared for the presentation.

The list that follows is a result of that reflection. You might think from reading it that building my Personal Learning Network (PLN) has been a linear, methodical process, but in reality I stumbled my way through and saw the steps I took only on reflection. I almost titled this post How To Build a PLN on Twitter, but that would imply that there really is a specific "method".

One thing I've learned about using the web and Web 2.0 tools in general is it's often "messy"; that is to say there are not usually step-by-step guidelines for doing this or that. So glean what you can from the list below. What worked for me may not work for you, but I hope you find a nugget somewhere that might help you along the way.

If after reading the list below you find yourself wanting to know more, you might want to check out these PLN related blog posts from @kylepace and @shellterrell, or take a peek at my first PLN building post (before I knew it was called a PLN!). You might also want to check out my Twitter related links on Delicious. Tons of informational resources there!

I reference the building of an educational technology (edtech) PLN below, but you can apply the same principals to building a PLN on your topic of interest.


This is what has worked and continues to work for me in my PLN building:

1. I set up a Twitter account. You might want to pick a Twitter username that reflects why you are on Twitter. I did that on accident because I was investigating for professional purposes, but in hindsight I’m glad I did! The name I picked was EdTechSandyK.
   
   Privacy Tips These are personal preference to me, useful if you don’t want your pic and name all over the web yet:
   
   Numerous other sites pick up Twitter tweets or feeds, and they lift your pic/avatar with them. I didn’t know that at first, but I’m glad I use a cartoon avatar.
   
   I decided not to use my last name in my account.
   
   I changed my email account to a new one I created just for edtech stuff. That way friends don’t find me when they sign up for Twitter. Since I don’t use Twitter to keep in touch with personal friends (I have Facebook for that), this works for me!
   
   I kept my account protected at first (no one could follow me without permission) until I figured out what was going on.
   
   
2. I started slowly by following just a few organizations or ed tech leaders I knew. Ex: @TCEA, @ISTEconnects, @wfryer, @moodlefairy
   
   
3. I scanned Twitter help to see what all of the symbols like RT and @ and d and # meant.
   
   
4. IMPORTANT TIP: After following a couple of folks, I took a few days to just observe: Watched tweets (posts) of the people I was following and watched who they RTed (re-tweeted or re-posted). I started to follow some of the folks they frequently RTed. (I subscribed to a few blogs based on links I saw tweeted, too!)
   
   
5. Edtech people tend to tweet a lot of links. I save ones I might use to my Delicious account for future reference.
   
   
6. I started to RT (re-tweet or re-post) useful tweets when I saw them.
   
   
7. I started to notice #hashtags (words that start with # like #edtech, #moodle, #teaching) and added them to my RTs when they applied. #Hashtags help other people on Twitter find posts related to topics they are intersted in.
   
   
8. I also searched by #hashtags to get more info. This helps you get ideas without having to subscribe to a lot of people all of the time. I subscribed to more people who posted a lot about #edtech.
   
   
9. Eventually I got brave and posted original tweets with good resources I had found. I used #hashtags with them, too, so people looking for that info would benefit.
   
   
10. Started using Hootsuite.com to better organize my tweets and see who was RTing me or replying to me. It also made shortening links a lot easier!
    
    
11. I started to get more followers! I monitor my followers and block spammers and marketers. You can tell by going to their profile and seeing what they Tweet about. A suggestive or pornographic profile pic is also a sign you don't want them to follow you. Unfortunately, those folks are out there. (You should subscribe to the @spam Twitter account and report all spammers and pornos to them.)
    
    
12. A couple of EdTech leaders on Twitter added me to recommended lists on TweepML. I was flattered and that has really increased my follower numbers which potentially increases my PLN. Here are their lists in case you are into EdTech:
    
    @ShellTerrell TweepML EdTech List: http://tweepml.org/EdTech-Links
    @NMHS_Principal TweepML Education PLN Builders: http://tweepml.org/Building-an-Education-PLN/
    
    
13. Now that I've been at this a little longer, I don’t follow people as easily or quickly as I did at first. There’s only so much info a person can take in! Before I decide to follow a Twitter account, I look at their profile. Are the majority of their tweets specific to edtech? Do they share lots of resources through links? Or are they just tweeting mostly mundane stuff?
    
    
14. I don’t feel obligated to follow people who follow me. I usually check them out when they start following me, though. Or if they RT me frequently I might check them out again down the road.
    
    
15. Out of courtesy to my followers, I try to keep one-on-one conversations private (direct) or very short if “public”.
    
    
16. I was following some news tweeps and other personal interest tweeps, but it got to be too much for me on one account, so I started a separate account for following them. I keep that account protected (no one can follow me) and don’t Tweet from it at this time. Using Hootsuite.com it's easy for me to check both accounts at the same time.
    
    
17. I was obsessive about reading EVERY Tweet at first, but it quickly became information overload. So, I now follow the “stream” philosophy. I won’t see every drop of water that goes by, and I won’t know what I missed. I glean from the drops I do get to see.

Well, that's it! That's where I am and how I'm operating now. If anything stood out to you or you have other tips on building a PLN, I hope you'll comment and share!

How Do I Introduce Twitter to Someone Who Is Interested?

This is a follow-up to my last post. Trying to avoid the cute guy to the right here, Mr. Fail Whale! :-)

The principal who approached me about having a Twitter account for his school doesn't know anything about it from personal experience, but he's heard about it and wants to try using it as a means to communicate with parents and students.

Before we talk about the logistics of using Twitter to communicate with stakeholders, I need to give him a high level overview of what Twitter itself is. Assume I have about 15 minutes with him.

Where would you start?

Have you made a similar presentation you wouldn't mind sharing?

Do you have a link to an already existing resource that you would recommend me using?

I have a few resources and ideas, but want to also take advantage of the wisdom of those with more experience. I'm naturally curious and have figured Twitter out on my own. Sometimes my biggest challenge is figuring out how to start with someone new that needs a little more guidance without overwhelming them!

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give! :-)

Help Me Help a High School Get Started on Twitter!

First, thank you for taking the time to visit this post and offer your advice! :-)

A public high school I work with is interested in broadcasting info to parents and students via Twitter. I'm a relative newb to using Twitter myself, and have never even taught one other person how to use it, let alone a public institution.

My charge here is two-fold: gather enough info to present to our superintendent to hopefully get this approved and guide the high school in using Twitter and using it well.

Would love your advice! Some questions I have include:

• What are the benefits of a public school using Twitter?
• What are potential pitfalls of a public school using Twitter?
• Do you know of examples of high schools already doing this and doing it well?
• Would you recommend a 3rd party client and if so, which one and why?
• Should tweets be public or protected?
• What would you share with your superintendent? You don't know their previous knowldege of Twitter so assume no knowledge or experience.
• What questions should I be thinking about/asking that aren't on this list?

I think that about covers it! Thank you in advance for any wisdom you can share. This is very exciting. I'll keep folks posted as the project progresses!

Did You Know? 4.0 - Shift Happens

Did You Know? 4.0 was released today. This video, also known in some incarnations as Shift Happens, started out as a PowerPoint presentation by Karl Fisch at a high school faculty meeting in 2006 and was later remixed by Scott McLeod. Since then, these men have continued to collaborate on updates to the video. I've seen the various versions of the video over the past couple of years and each time it fascinates me and makes me realize how _s_l_o_w_l_y_ the wheels of education turn in relationship to the wheels of the society which we serve.

Take four and three-fourths minutes to watch and contemplate:






There is so much to process from this video. As an educator who's been thinking about digital citizenship lately, the info on the number of text messages sent, number of "free" music downloads, and the percentage of people disciplined at work for online activities jumps out at me. We obviously have an important job ahead of us in the realm of educating folks the ethics of living in an online world.

That's not to say that the amazing facts about the size and power of computers, that 93% of adults in the US have cell phones (Really? I'm not sure why that shocks me or I have a hard time believing it), and that most of us will access the Internet off of handheld devices by the year 2020 are lost on me. Technology continues to transform our world at an almost incalculable pace. There is so much flying by in this video I'm no where near processing all of it yet.
How about you? What stood out to you in this presentation? What implications does it have for educators and education?

In case you want to see earlier versions of Did You Know? (they were more focused on education) or are interested in the thoughts of the authors, here are some links you might explore:

• Shift Happens Wiki - includes various versions and source files
• Direct link to the video on YouTube
• Scott McLeod's blog post on Did You Know? 4.0
• Karl Fisch's blog post on Did You Know? 4.0

Enjoy the contemplation!!!!